President Bongbong Marcos’s recent state visit to Saudi Arabia, touted by the current administration as a resounding success, has come under scrutiny due to the spread of disinformation and fake news.
In an unfortunate twist, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), which is tasked with combating fake news, was found to have disseminated false information on social media.
Their initial claim, stating that former President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr. was the last sitting president to visit Saudi Arabia 40 years ago, was debunked as other Philippine leaders have made official visits to the kingdom in the past. Notably, Fidel V. Ramos visited in 1994, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009, and Rodrigo Duterte in 2017.
The initial post on Facebook, which was shared on a Saturday, inaccurately stated, “Apatnapung taon mula noong bumisita si dating Pangulong Ferdinand E. Marcos sa Saudi Arabia, ang huling pagkakataong isang nakaupong pangulo ng Pilipinas ang nagtungo sa bansa, dinalaw ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ang Filipino community sa Riyadh upang sila’y personal na pasalamatan para sa kanilang mahahalagang kontribusyon.”
However, it took a remarkable 11 hours for this misleading information to be corrected in response to online backlash.
The post underwent at least three rounds of editing and corrections, with the final update reading, “Sa pagtatapos ng partisipasyon ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa ASEAN-GCC Summit, binisita ng pangulo ang ating mga kababayan na nasa Riyadh, Saudi Arabia upang sila’y personal na pasalamatan para sa kanilang mahahalagang kontribusyon sa ating bansa.”
The corrected post featured an erratum at the bottom, acknowledging the error: “In a previous version of this caption, we erroneously stated that President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.’s visit to Saudi Arabia in 1982 was the last visit by a sitting Philippine president. We wish to clarify that both President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and President Rodrigo Duterte also visited Saudi Arabia in 2009 and 2017 respectively.”
This correction came after self-confessed “social media dissident” Mark Lopez’s social media post at 1:12 PM on the same day, wherein he accused the PCO of “spreading fake news” and questioned why they, of all agencies, were at the forefront of disseminating misinformation.
“Di ba kayo dapat ang lead sa paglaban against fake news? Bakit kayo pa ngayon nangunguna?” Lopez asked.
Furthermore, the aftermath of Marcos’s two-day visit to Saudi Arabia witnessed his administration proudly announcing that Saudi Arabian business leaders had expressed their interest in the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) on Friday, October 20.
However, a day prior to this news release, Marcos himself had suspended the implementation of the controversial Maharlika Fund, citing the need for further study of its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) to ensure transparency and accountability.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, on the directive of the President, issued a memorandum on October 12 suspending the implementation of the IRR of Republic Act No. 11954.
“Upon the directive of the President, the treasurer of the Philippines, in coordination with the LBP (Land Bank of the Philippines) and DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines), is hereby directed to suspend the implementation of the IRR of RA (Republic Act) No. 11954,” Bersamin said in a memorandum dated Oct. 12.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who is set to chair the Maharlika Investment Corp., has not yet commented on the suspension.
The Daily Netizen 